Calaveras Grape Stomp & Gold Rush Street Faire

Every year on the first Saturday in October crowds of people form in Downtown Murphys Park to celebrate the beginning of the wine harvest season at the Largest and Oldest Grape Stomp Competition in California. Now in it’s 24th year, the annual community Grape Stomp has grown by participation to include over 120 teams vying to be known as “Champion of the Juice” or winner of the “Best Costume” award.

During the stomp, teams of two, many with creative names and costumes, compete to collect the most juice out of 25 pounds of grapes in three-minute heats. Teams consist of a “stomper,” who stands in half a winebarrel with the grapes, and a “swabber, or mucker” who stands outside the barrel and reaches in to help flow the juice out of a drain spout.

Teams are encouraged to appear in costume and prizes are awarded based on originality, design and effort. Previous winners include the “Grapeful Dead” and the “Cork Fungus Fairies” with the most anticipated heat of the day being the Winemakers Heat where local winemakers come out to compete in a friendly rivalry for best juice out of the bottle and the Presidents Cup. Competitions are highly encouraged between businesses, sponsors, organizations and friends and pre-registration is strongly recommended as stomp competitions sell out well before the event.